Rare Polio-Like Illness Detected in Northeast Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska state health officials say a fourth case of a rare, polio-like illness has been confirmed in the state.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release Wednesday that the case of acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, has been confirmed in a child in northeast Nebraska. No other information about the child has been released.

The state’s first case was reported in November.

AFM can cause paralysis in the arms and legs and affects mainly children.

An increase in cases nationwide started in 2014. The department says from August 2014 through October 2018, there have been 527 confirmed cases of AFM in the U.S.

The northeast Nebraska case initially was reported in mid-December as a suspected case in the Dakota County Health Department’s jurisdiction.